Two Degrees

“Momma bear will wreck you.”

Owen says this phrase jokingly to the tourists at Tundra Treks, but never imagines that he will have to face a momma bear in real life as the phrase foreshadows. It crosses his mind as he waits to be attacked and reflects his realization that his complacency about polar bears has gotten them into serious trouble.

“The Big One. The giant mythical hurricane that would destroy the entire southeast coast of Florida.”

For years, Miami residents have feared “The Big One” but it has never arrived until Reuben. This has made many people doubt it will ever come, it feels more like a legend than a real danger, illustrating the complacency that contributes to human-influenced climate change.

“If she was going to be lost in a wildfire, Akira wished it was just her and Dodger, and nobody else.”

Akira is a committed “loner” and resents Sue when they first find themselves trapped together. She only feels happy when she is alone in the mountains with Dodger, but through the book she begins to realize that connections with other people are important, illustrating her coming-of-age journey.

“It felt wrong to laugh when they were in so much danger, but they both needed the release.”

Akira and Sue begin to joke to one another, which distracts them from the fire and develops their friendship. This theme is reflected in the other stories; all characters realize they need a mental escape even when faced with imminent danger.

“It always happened to somebody else. Never to you.”

This phrase occurs in the Owen and George storyline but reflects a feeling that all characters have. All of the teenagers know about the threats of climate change in their local areas, but, apart from Natalie, they do not expect themselves to have to survive personally until disaster strikes.

“The bears should be out on the ice hunting seals, not here hunting human beings!”

Owen and George come to terms with how broken the environment is as the polar bears follow them through the landscape. There is already sea ice, so they expected the animals to be far away from Churchill, but multiple starving bears can be found just outside town, demonstrating the effects of humans on the natural area.

“Reuben’s attacks on her felt personal now, as if this was some kind of game the hurricane was playing with her.”

This quote reflects the personification of natural disasters throughout the book. Instead of a non-sentient storm, Reuben becomes Natalie’s enemy, and she feels that it is intentionally dragging her away from every chance she gets to escape.

“Morris roaring angrily at their escape.”

Like Reuben, the Morris Fire becomes an anthropomorphized character as the story progresses. Akira views the fire as chasing her, as it constantly appears by her side whenever she gets a brief moment to rest.

“All the color had been sucked out of the world.”

This phrase contrasts the lush Sierra Nevada environment found in the opening chapters as Akira and Lars make their way up the mountainside. In a matter of hours, the world becomes a gray and black burned husk, with all color gone and near all life eliminated.

“To them, he’s more than a source of fur and food. He’s a great hunter and survivor.”

The Inuit view polar bears very differently than most modern Churchill residents. As Owen and George are stalked by a bear, they begin to understand this view and see Nanuq as an intelligent, resourceful fellow creature and highlight the novel’s emphasis on Human Connection and the Natural World.

“Everything George had said about him still cut to the quick, but his concern for his best friend came first.”

The bond between Owen and George is at the forefront of their minds even as they fight for survival. Despite both being seriously injured, Owen is concerned when George tells him that his family might leave Churchill. Quotes such as this one show that even in disaster, everyday worries do not disappear.

“Will I ever be somewhere the water isn’t rising?”

Prior to Reuben, Natalie felt that she was prepared for a hurricane. As she is thrust into the water over and over, she begins to give up hope. She cannot imagine an end to the storm and feels that the entire world will soon be engulfed in water.

“A giant pink fiberglass flamingo was tumbling straight toward her on the wind.”

The flamingo in this scene acts as a symbol for humanity’s influence on the Florida landscape. People have destroyed the real flamingos’ natural Everglades landscape and filled it with useless detritus like this fiberglass sculpture. When it knocks Natalie into the water, it reflects the devastating effects of human progress and carelessness.

“She and the manatee were alike, she realized.”

All the humans and animals in the book have one goal, to survive. The manatee is the most docile wild animal found in the novel, and Natalie feels a bond with him as they both find themselves trapped on a rooftop far from home, attempting Survival and Resilience in Disaster.

“[S]uddenly the fiery predator was reaching out it’s burning paws for Akira and Dodger.”

Morris is described as an angry animal at several points in the book. It is so vicious and deadly that even predatory animals like mountain lions can only run from it. Akira begins to realize that she has nothing to fear except the fire itself, just like every other being on the mountain.

“He knew too that polar bear season was getting longer and longer every year. Because it meant more money for him and his family.”

Unlike Akira, Natalie, and George, Owen does not take climate change particularly seriously until near the end of his narrative. He knows it exists but only sees the small-scale effects and thinks that warming temperatures are acceptable, given that it allows his family to run more polar bear tours every year.

“What happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic, Owen thought.”

Following the previous quote, Owen begins to realize that climate change is a huge issue, and that the Arctic’s survival is critical for the survival of the rest of the world. This quote mirrors what the boys say when Owen falls through the snow hole and George promises not to tell anyone. This realization demonstrates Owen’s Coming of Age in a Changing World as he begins to understand the impact of climate change.

“[Y]ou’ve got blinders on when it comes to what’s really happening out there, and it’s going to get us all killed.”

Akira finally stands up to her dad as Lars insists that they are safe in the house. She finally sees the full extent of his delusion. This phrase also works to guide Akira toward the realization that the horses need their blinders to calm them down so they can ride out of the fire and illustrates Akira’s Coming of Age in a Changing World as well.

“[W]e don’t have to do everything, Nat. We just gotta do something.”

Natalie feels helpless after Reuben as she views the devastation across the city. Patience, a long-time activist, reminds her that it is not up to any single person to solve climate change on their own, but that everyone can chip in to help in some way. Natalie repeats this phrase in one of her speeches in Part 7.

“Morris was trying to tell them something too. […] That it wasn’t part of the normal cycle of nature.”

Once out of the fire, Akira no longer sees Morris as an angry predator. Instead, the fire becomes an explosive warning that something is seriously wrong, and that people must act before it is too late. Akira’s understanding develops the novel’s theme of Human Connection and the Natural World as she understands why Morris has become a megafire in the first place.

“What if he was just seeing what was in front of him, and not the big picture?”

Owen’s realization of “the big picture” is a running theme throughout his storyline. At the beginning, his mother and George are worried about his lack of forethought. As the story progresses, he begins to focus on the big picture both within his life and within the context of the world as a whole, showing his Coming of Age in a Changing World.

“Some people get to ride out the storm on yachts while the rest of us are clinging to whatever floats by and trying not to drown.”

Natalie argues that when people pretend to all be in the same boat when it comes to climate change, they are oblivious to the reality of inequality. Wealthy people are more well-suited to survive from things like Hurricane Reuben since they have better-built dwellings and the means to evacuate. Meanwhile, poorer residents are more at risk to begin with, and receive less attention in the aftermath of storms.

“Two degrees separated each one of them from the other, and two degrees of temperature change separated the world from disaster.”

This quote reflects the main characters’ shared beliefs at the end of the book that human connections are the only means of finding a way out of imminent climate collapse, underscoring the theme of Human Connection and the Natural World. Although the threat is very real, so are the bonds between people even in very different environments.